Sunset
by Machinist's Guardian Archangel
Summary: What do you do when you live on Rannoch, don't have a real house yet, and need to unwind with your favorite Quarian? Well, there's always a Hell of a view waiting for you at the end of the day. Might as well enjoy it. Cover image credit of NarQwibQwib over on FA.


If there's any place that can beat the sunsets on Illium, it's Rannoch. The desert planet has a certain beauty to its landscape, a kind of dangerous grace. Sharp edges from the rock faces cast all sorts of gorgeous shadows on the scenery. There isn't much vegetation, but the patches of lakes and little green there are add a wonderful contrast. And the sky: something about the atmosphere makes it become a deep purple when the sun starts to drift down below the horizon. Streaks of piercing orange keep enough light to see, holding on to those last few hours of light. If the day's heat doesn't kill you, you can see one of the best landscapes in the galaxy.

Sure, there's views like this all over the barely inhabited planet. Pick any hill, and the top will give you a postcard-worthy picture. But this cliff in particular is the best. There's something about this spot that just makes the beauty almost too powerful for words. A biased opinion, of course: we can't help where we saw our first sunset on our new homeworld.

That's why we keep coming out here every evening, to watch the sun go down with dinner or a snack. Over a month since I officially retired, and this view still doesn't get old. Knowing it's ours, that everything we went through got us something this wonderful makes it all worth it. Not that having a beautiful, maskless Quarian beside me hurts. It makes sitting on a blanket every night of the week enjoyable. She has that effect on most things.

I lean over closer, snuggling in behind her. Tali leans back against me with a content purr of a sigh. She smells faintly of engine grease, burnt circuit board, and a flowery perfume I gave her over a year ago. Somehow enchanting, somehow perfectly her. Her raven hair drifts into my face, and I push it aside with a small laugh. She almost never wears her helmet now. The rest of her suit is too utilitarian to not use, but the fishbowl was gone almost immediately when we moved here. Unfiltered air is a drug to her, and she loves tasting everything without her stupid suit sterilizing it. I always tease her and say she just wants me to kiss her more.

All the time in the sun is giving her a tan, or what passes for one with Quarians. When she's not sunburn red (which happens at least twice a week), her face has a slightly pink hue. Still pale, but almost passable for human. It's when you get close that you notice her more beautiful alien features: the pale gray eyes, the synthetic implants beneath her skin, the barely pointed ears that are almost elfish. Tanned or not, she's the most beautiful creature I've ever met.

"My baby girl enjoying the show?" I whisper and finally break the silence.

She giggles softly. "Of course. I can't wait to watch it from our living room."

"Shall I motivate the geth to move faster? I'm sure one or two would be willing to sacrifice a leg for the materials."

"No. This is perfect. It's our home, no matter how many walls or windows we have."

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

I put my arms around her stomach. Her gloved hands wrap over mine not a moment later. The cool metal of the ring on her left is distinct, but makes me smile. It's proof she's mine, just like the little gold on my hand marks me. She's my baby girl, and I'm her dashing captain. Interspecies complications be damned. Soon enough, we'll even have a ceremony and paperwork to back it up.

She's stood by me through everything. Every suicidal mission, every hardship, every ridiculous danger the galaxy could muster. Every stupid mistake I made, she was right there. Ready to prop me back up as I fell, or just hold me when I needed to rest. Ready to whisper something perfect and kind that somehow got me through the worst days of my life. Even before we knew what we were, or how much we loved each other, she held me together. I don't think I can ever repay her for that.

Every time I tell her that, she laughs at me. She points out all the times I did the same for her. How I had her back when those bastards accused her of treason, or every time someone dared to come after her. How I held her when her father died. How every time she was scared or worried, I was there to see her through. She says if anything, she owes me.

Is that what love is, then? Feeling like what you do to help them is nothing, while even the smallest affection they show you is everything? Feeling like you'll always owe them for something they'll never accept as a debt? Or is that just something weird that we share? Either way, I think I can live with that. It keeps me and my baby girl happy. That's more than enough.

Less than a quarter of the sun remains now. I hug her tighter as she shivers. If I thought for even a second she would accept my coat, I'd give it to her. She'll just use it as an excuse to go in when the sun is completely gone, push me to the couch quicker so we can relax in the warmth. She'll pull out another puzzle book to conquer, and I'll either dig through my collection to read or try to master a new song. It's about all we can do in the little prefab we call home for now.

I try to think of something clever or funny to say, but find nothing. Maybe the magical night is affecting me too. Maybe it's the universe's way of pushing me to hold her tight and shut my stupid mouth. She lets out another small purr of a sigh. Her warm cheek and ear find the side of my face. I smile, and feel her do the same.

"I love you, Aaron," she whispers.

"Keelah se'lai, baby girl," I answer.

Five more minutes of wonderful, blissful silence follow. I even keep myself from whispering some cheesy romance song in her ear. Better to let the sunset do the work of creating an intimate mood for us. And it does just that. There's one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment of glorious purple just after the sun goes down before the night turns into the dark blue of night. One of these days, I'll get a picture of it to hang onto forever. Though somehow, I doubt a photo can quite capture the magic.

She stands first, and I find my feet a second later. Her hands take mine, pulling me gently towards the house. I stop her with a brief tug, holding my ground. She smiles as she turns to me and sees the same grin on my face. It takes almost no effort to pull her in and wrap her in a proper hug. This way, I can see her beautiful smile as I show her just a bit of the love she deserves. I have to lean down to kiss her properly, but she's worth it.

Rather than finding her lips like I expected, I meet her temple. She turned at the last possible second, still showing that beautiful smile. I put more pressure into the hug and kiss the same spot again, closing my eyes. They don't need to be open to know how happy she is. And that's all I really care about: keeping her happy.

* * *

One part break from Fallen, one part somewhat venting piece, I suppose. There's always something relaxing about writing about these two, no matter how little or random it is. I didn't have a story for this one as much as usual, other than the pic on my Tumblr (tagged as "sunset" now, for convenience.) But I enjoyed writing it, and figured I might as well post it for you minions to see. Onto the next chapter of Fallen! ~MGA


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